I'm not the first to crown pumpkins. Dore makes beautiful wire crowns.

Out in the garden, the winter garden is planted. But it is also a wonderful time for roses. They are blooming again after a hot summer! Maybe they will bloom until May if we don't have a few days of cold this winter. My lettuce is also ready again, and I also have some wildflowers.

So I picked some flowers, wild or not, and lettuce and basil, and I placed these pretties in these petite dimpled bowls and placed them in various spots in the home. I mix the colors inspired by Venice. These bowls would be pretty even with sticks, acorns, or autumn leaves if that is what you have in your area. (The bowls were a dollar or two from Ikea last year.)
I enjoyed this from Sarah.

The dimpled glass looks vintage next to pretty French goblets made in France with bumble bee embellishment.

I'm going to make a least one pair of my angel wings. It prepares me for the holidays.

I use worn sheets and chicken wire.

I also dry some of the flowers that I find in the yard or bring home, and then scatter them on the table, or I fill one of the dimple glasses with them. And since I love drawing on the chalkboard, I'm painting some canvases black and drawing on them with white pastel.

Finally, I am reading Jacque Pepin's new book Heart and Soul in the Kitchen.

He writes my favorite cookbooks. He is Simple Beautiful Food. This book is extra special. It's a hardcover. It is also autobiographical. ( The French chef is nearly eighty and multi-talented.) Besides many doable recipes, he writes about simplicity and the beauty of food, wine, family, his career path, and so on.

The photographs are lovely, but I also love the simple art illustrations, which I think are mostly his. His master degree was in French literature and his Phd in food in French literature.

It is my favorite cookbook ever, and probably destined to be a must have for some cooks.

I will be making miso salmon soon and his chicken soup.

Also, once again, he has a cooking show on PBS.

And that's it. I'm sharing this at Kerrianne's, because she said it was time to share what we are creating or preparing for the upcoming holidays. I am also sharing at RJ's Art at Home's Literary Friday. Thank you for visiting, and enjoy your holiday weekend.

Welcome to our vintage 1940s cottage fixer: built when homes were a big petite 1000 square feet with sleeping porches for summer cool. I adore romantic, vintage, a ruffle of French, Nordic, and Swedish country with a sprinkle of cottage glam: a relaxed whimsical, elegance. It's our home, and there is painting, music, gardening, creating, living, kitties, french poodles, (and a pug)...imperfect with luster.

The weather is simply perfect tonight, we haven't gotten the rain yet, but the cool air flowing through the house has been wonderful. Love your little vases and pretty flowers! Enjoy the upcoming weekend! Blessings, Cindy

Such unique and lovely ideas! Love the use of lace for crowns, love the scattered dry flowers, love the impromptu arrangements, love the creamy white roses. I have never heard of Jacque Pepin, but his work sounds amazing- thanks for the recommendation! Hope you continue to enjoy your fall Su!

Beautiful pictures!!! I love the crowns and I think they would look adorable on your Christmas tree. I would like to make one...for myself though! The angel wings are divine and so very perfect to get you into the Christmas spiritI love to watch Jacques Pepin's cooking shows and he makes it look so easy to cook haute cuisine! Have a great weekend!

Thank you, Kuni. I've had that piece for maybe fifteen years, and I left in my garden against a wall for a few years until recently my spouse cleaned it off, and I brought it in. It looks even better now with more rust. Have a wonderful day. xoxo Su

What a pretty little crown. It certainly makes your pumpkin very glamorous. Those are wonderful angel wings, too. I wish I could draw like you because your chalkboard looks great and the flowers look oh so lovely... :)

Dear Su,When I first started following your blog we in Philadelphia were locked in surviving harsh winters winds and bitter cold. I fell in love with your posts from you winter garden and honestly it is a term that intrigues and fascinates me. My winter garden (? Garden in winter) looks out on stone walled beds with manicured boxwoods in pea gravel that get covered by snow and in a haunting beautiful way satisfy my soul. While the entire time I'm hoping they will not be bite by frostbite and return with new growth in the Spring. I did indeed notice your delightful crowns on your table in your Halloween post with Fanciful twists also your adorable Cootie catchers - fortune tellers that I hadn't made since many moons have passed! I have been inspired by you to make them in origami printed papers and set them in a bowl with my next dinner party. For like you I feel life needs to be embraced and celebrated in a playful way. And dear Su this is the reason your blog remains one of my top favorites. I've been working my way through "The French Laundry" cookbook, beautiful and recipes a tad more culinary ( code difficult) and then my next cookbook to tackle and experiment from is Jacques Pépin's. I need to purchase it on Amazon soon.Happy Halloween to you and your family, sending boo kisses and love.Vera

Thank you, Vera. Your garden sounds beautiful in the winter. I really miss that there is no fall here with changing leaves, unless we drive north, and I do love the photos of snow. But I've lived most of my life in warm weather and cannot tolerate cold. To get my fix, usually once a year I go to Santa Fe either in the fall or the winter for just a few days. A long weekend will make me nostalgic for when I lived in the high desert for a few years.

We had a lot of fun folding those with pretty papers, and writing silly things on the inside like "boo". They will be perfect for your table and fun for your guests.

I don't have that cook book, but I use to go to the French Laundry. Autumn was best because the grapes were picked or being picked and it smelled wonderful. I use to live in the Bay Area for many years, because my spouse is from there. Jacque's recipes have always been the right speed for me, because I get distracted and things go wrong. Or I go, I don't have that, so I will try this. Hmmm...

I am touched that you enjoy my blog and see my playful side. Have a wonderful weekend, Vera. xoxo Su

Love the crowns. I love how your garden is still blooming. Mine is long gone. Just today. Bella asked if we can start doing the holiday crafts. Even though I am already listening to xmas music, I don't know if I am ready for xmas decorations yet. lol

Thank you, Victoria. That's wonderful that you are already listening to Christmas music. I had not thought to do that. We have so much in the schedule this time of year with piano, school, and other extracurricular that we start early. How sweet of Bella to get you involved. xoxo Su

Thank you, Carla. This has got to be my favorite, because it's more than a cookbook, and his recipes usually don't require too many ingredients. Some things I will never make, because I live in the desert, but plenty of recipes I will. I also really loved his story. xoxo Su

I do love the crowns y'all made. You really must put them on a Christmas tree....they would be so pretty on one! Your roses are so pretty. I remember when we lived in Arizona our roses were always so pretty (except during the summer) and they NEVER had black spots on them like they often have here in Alabama.Wow, this cookbook sounds like something I would LOVE. I'm putting it on my Christmas wish list. Jacques Pépin has quite the resume! Have you ever read any of Peter Mayle's books about Provence? I think you might like them!

Thanks so much for linking up to Literary Friday. It means so much to me!

Thank you, R.J. You are right that the roses don't get spots. I did have a problem with aphids, but I killed them with a mixture of tobacco, listerine, and something else. It took care of them, because the lady bugs I released did not do their job. I am always reading something, but a lot of times they are classics these days, but this week I had the perfect book. I have not read Peter Mayle's books, so I will have to look for them. Have a wonderful festive weekend. xoxo Su

Your crowns turned out so well, they are very pretty. You are so lucky that you received some rain. We have not had any here in Fullerton. So glad that your winter garden is doing well. I need to get some lettuce seeds and plant them. Planted quite a few herbs and they are doing very well, as I hand water from the water that I save. My roses did very poorly this summer, not big blooms, looked more like miniature roses. i had the gardener dead head them back quite a bit and now they look more like they should. I will not prune them down since it doesn't get cold here.I so enjoy your posts - thank you.Have a great Halloween .Mary

Thank you, Mary. Yes, we are. I hope California gets some, but I think the weather pattern brought it here instead. I cover my roses in summer with a shade cloth attached to the arches. That's how they survive. I lost only one this year. And I water them at their feet in earliest morning, and after the sun goes down, so I don't lose too much water from heat. I am not going to prune mine down either. I did that last year, and it wasn't good for them, because it was not cold. I think next year, I will cut them back when I cover them in the summer, and see what happens. Thank you so much, Mary, for your sweet visit, and the information about your roses. Have a wonderful weekend. xoxo Su

Thank you, Magali. I wonder why you don't have any. Is it going to be cold? I noticed when I was in Paris in August that the leaves were starting to change ever so slightly, and when I stopped in Boston to visit my dad, the trees were fading. xoxo Su

Su, such a beautiful simple Autumn here, the lace crown oh yes, every pumpkin needs a crown. Love the mix of flora and pumpkins, leading us into fall.I am so looking forward to winter here as last years winter chill warmed us with inspiration with you.

Jacques is wonderful. The PBS series that featured him with Julia Child was one of my favorites. Your roses are beautiful. I love the dimpled glass and the crowns. Your home is so pretty and romantic. I love it! xo

As always, your home is filled with beautiful creations that inspire one to copy. I loved revisiting that unique city of Venice with one click on your link. Thank you for sharing. Wishing you and yours a wonderful week.

Those crowns that you are working on are beautiful and how sweet that you make them from left over materials. You are very resourceful and creative.

I am also a foodie and love cooking for family and friends. Jacque Pepin is one of my favorite chefs. He is simply an incredible and talented chef without all the big celebrity persona. I do not have that particular book yet but plan to buy it soon.

sujohnson

Christmas 2016

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Welcome to our vintage 1940s cottage fixer: built when homes were a big petite 1000 square feet with sleeping porches for summer cool. I adore romantic, vintage, a ruffle of French, Nordic, and Swedish country with a sprinkle of cottage glam: a relaxed whimsical, elegance. It's our home, and there is painting, music, gardening, creating, living, kitties, french poodles, (and a pug)...imperfect with luster.